The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-04-15
III Tie South Seas.

uneventful though Industrious life, sat
down in the Directors room OF his
bank recently and told a story OF his
capture by cannibal8 in his younger
DAYS which is better than Robinson
CrusOe's narrative, because it is truer.
He was the son of one of the leading
shipbuilders and owners on the river,
and in 1910, when "a or 25 years Of
age, he went to California to look aft
ersOme vessel property belonging to his
father. While in San Francisco he
made arrangements to 90 down to the
South Sea on a trading voyage as
supercago, and ne thus relates the in
cidents of the trip:
1--WE made one Of a group of islands
lying in 172 degrees west longitude
and "A degrees south latitude, near
New Zealand. | had Leard of the
place through Captain Henry Gardin-
err, of this town, but knew that the
natives were Cannibals and raised
splendid potatoes. Captain Gardiner
had told me that the sCamps had
once taken a crew of forty men from
a French whale ship and eaten every
one Of them. But potatoes were sell.
ing at 81 a pound in San francisco,
and | determined to take back a YES
sci load and make enough for running
the risk. | Cruised about the island
for about 100 days, and picked up
enough OF their language to talk with
them. We were sailing by one of their
towns at sunset one night: when |
concluded to go ashore IN a boat. 1t
was about like landing near Seguin,
here, in October or November. 1t was
potato digging time and the weather
was uncertain. 1t shut down dark,
and | and my bOat-creW were cast
away. The natives pulled us out Ofthe
surf and took me into the cabin OF
their chief, where / dried myself and
passed the night. Next morning | told
the chief | would like to have one of
his boats to 90 to my vessel. He
would not listen to it. Then | said
I'd like to have him go off with my
boat crew and bring the captain
ashore. He agreed to that, and they
went off to the vessel. After they got
on board, and before they could start
to come back, the wind came around
blowing fresh, and the vessel had to
put to sea to make an offing. The
consequence was they never got back,
and | remained the prisoner Of those
cannibals for the next ten days.
They treated me kindly, but watched
me too closely, altogether. They
would kill a pig or a duck or anything
| wanted to eat, but | couldn't move
without being logged by forty or fifty
OF those fellows. They would not tell
me where the vessel was. The old
Chief, who had gone to the vessel, was
a widower and had a daughter, IA or
Is years old, whose name vas Tor
CANA. Before her father went away
she had treated me politely, but never
would have any talk with me.
"She was person OF much influence
with the tribe, and my plan was to
get into her good graCes, in order to
increase my chance of escape. After
trying in vain to induce her to con-
verse with me, / acted upon a recol-
that all savages are passionately
fond of gambling. I whitfield out 81
wooden top, such as | used to play
with for pins when q boy, having on
top of it "A for all, N for nothing,
etc. l showed her how to use it
and told her to get three or four
companions and play. She did so,
and, giving each of them ten kernels
of corn, I set them at gambling with
it. They soon became excited over
the game and infatuated with the top.
Watching Torgana carefully, | noticed
that she felt very bad when she lost
and very good when she won. Seeing,
one day, that she was rapidly losing
her corn, / stealthily slipped some
more into her hand. She accepted it,
and / knew then that / had ahoid on
her. / increased it by letting her put
on a handsome seal ring which | wore
on my finger. Taking a piece of char
coal, ] one day drew a rude map to
show where / had lett my father and
old and helpless, and that their pro-
visions would give out, and that they
would starve unless | returned to
them soon. Isaw that Ihad enlisted her
sympathy, but when / asked her where
the 'kybook' 1.-THE vesseD was she re-
fused to tell me. A fsw days after that
she came to me at night, as | was
standing outside of my cabin, andtold
mi that the kybook was at Wytanga,
abont sixty miles across the island.
She offered to send a guide with me to
the vessel if / would promise to pro-
tect him and take him away with me.
If did not, she said, they would kill
him. / offered to make her a present
OF my ring, but she would not take it.